WSOU

AL West Weekly No. 2

Date: July 28, 2021

By: Ryan Henry

A Seattle Mariners batter celebrates after hitting a home run during an MLB game.

Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

With Adam Frazier heading to the San Diego Padres and Nelson Cruz going to the Tampa Bay Rays, the first dominos have fallen in what could potentially be an insane trade deadline. 

The Oakland Athletics joined in on the festivities Monday night when they acquired Chicago Cubs reliever Andrew Chafin in exchange for top-10 prospect Greg Deichmann and Daniel Palencia. Chafin is having a bounce-back year, posting career-highs in terms of ERA, ERA+, WHIP, H/9 and K/9. He will look to bolster a bullpen unit that is already among the league’s best and is under contract until the end of 2021 with a mutual option for the 2022 season.

Even though Chafin has been the only big move of the deadline thus far for AL West teams, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a surplus of rumors.

For the Rangers, the Joey Gallo and Kyle Gibson situations are still being monitored closely. For Gibson, his age (33-years-old) along with his lack of past production is a cause for concern for interested teams. Even though Gallo has expressed a desire to stay with the club, his asking price in contract negotiations, along with the fact that he is a Scott Boras client, the Rangers might trade him now to get something in return.

Now joining Gallo and Gibson in the rumors is closer, Ian Kennedy. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been closely linked to Kennedy with the hopes of him serving as a set-up man for Kenley Jansen. Kennedy currently has a 2.59 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched with career-highs in WHIP, H/9 and BB/9.

A Texas Ranger player delivers a pitch during an MLB game.

Raymond Carlin III/USA TODAY Sports

For the Los Angeles Angels, things become a bit trickier. With Mike Trout’s imminent return and Shohei Ohtani’s breakout season, the Angels probably won’t be complete sellers, but reports are now coming out that Los Angeles may be looking to move starters Alex Cobb and Andrew Heaney. For Cobb, he’s had a hot July, allowing one earned run or fewer in all four of his starts with 21 strikeouts in 24.2 innings pitched. Despite Heaney’s stats not being the best, his strikeout-to-walk rate of 105-to-28 might be enough for a contender to take a flyer on him. 

According to all reports, the Seattle Mariners are going to be buyers at the deadline, with the big target being Kansas City Royals’ Whit Merrifield, who’s been one of the league’s best all-around hitters since entering the league in 2016, posting a career slash line of .292/.339/.439 to go along with elite speed. Merrifield would give Seattle some much needed help in the middle infield with the flexibility to play in the outfield as well.

Before the Chafin trade Monday night, the Athletics were also in rumors for Pirates closer, Richard Rodriguez. Given the fact they already have a deep bullpen, I would assume they took their name out of those trade talks. The Athletics will either stand pat or move their efforts towards bolstering their outfield.

The Houston Astros would love to add another arm (especially in the bullpen) to really push this team over the top, but their prospect pool is basically drained at this point. While Max Scherzer would be amazing for them, they don’t have close to the assets a team like the Mets or Dodgers could offer. There have been rumors that the Astros could go for less flashier alternatives such as Colorado Rockies’ Jon Gray, Miami Marlins’ Yimi Garcia, and Baltimore Orioles’ Tanner Scott and Paul Fry.

I can’t finish this article without shouting out Angels pitcher Patrick Sandoval and Mariners utility player Dylan Moore. In Saturday’s contest against the Minnesota Twins, Sandoval was mere inches away from immorality as he threw 8.1 hitless innings before Brent Rooker doubled. On the night, Sandoval picked up his third win of the season, striking out 13 and only allowing one walk. 

On Monday night, Moore helped the Mariners pull off the impossible. Down 7-0 against the Astros, the Mariners clawed their way back in the game by the eighth inning, losing 8-7. With the bases loaded, Moore hit a bomb to give the Mariners a 11-8 lead, and ultimately, the game. 

Seattle has now won four straight games against the Athletics and Astros, and they are knocking on the doorstep for the second wild card spot.

Ryan Henry can be reached at ryan.henry@student.shu.edu.

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